Coin actuator for vending machines



Sept. 14, 1965 Filed May 4, 1964 L? Q Ma] 57 ifj mhu, Inn 'q J. J. HILL 3 Sheets-Sheet l 18 8 illlHmmmm Sept. 14, 1965 J. J. HILL COIN ACTUATOR FOR VENDING MACHINES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed May 4, 1964 INVENTOR. JAMES J. HILL Sept. 14, 1965 J. J. HILL 3,205,995

COIN ACTUATOR FOR VENDING MACHINES Filed May 4, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 4 16h INVENTOR. 52 F (5 15 JAMES J. HILL United States Patent M 3,205,995 COIN ACTUATOR FOR VENDING MACHINES James J. Hill, Hialeah, Fla, assignor to Marlan Company, a corporation of Illinois Filed May 4, 1964, Ser. No. 364,453 3 Claims. (Cl. 194-61) This invention relates in general to coin operated devices and more particularly to a coin actuator for manually operated machines.

Previous coin actuators of this general character embodied reciprocating slides for rotary mechanism in which the moving parts are exposed to the operator and subject to vandalism and other forms of tampering, often resulting in malfunction of the device.

The present invention overcomes th above objections and disadvantages by the provision of a rotary type coin actuator adapted to receive a predetermined coin conducted thereby by gravity from a conventional coin slot and is a principal object of the invention.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a rotary coin actuator for sequentially receiving gravity propelled coins and operated by the knob or handle which is normally used for the manual operation of a vending machine.

Another object of the invention is a rotary coin actuator which includes an adjustable means for use with coins of different diameters and manual means for the gravity rejection of coins deposited therein.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a ratchet means in a rotary coin actuator for permitting unidirectional rotation of same through a predetermined angle and counter rotation through a preliminary release angle for manually unlocking the actuator for operation of a vending machine.

These and other objects in one embodiment of the invention are shown and described in the following specification and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective reduced size view of a typical coin actuated machine such as used for vending transparent laminations on cards and like articles.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary full sized front elevation of a coin actuator therefor with portions thereof broken away.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary rear elevation of the coin actuator, shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top plan view thereof.

' FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 55, FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 5 in changed position.

7 FIG. 7 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 7-7, FIG. 4.

. FIG. 8 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 88, FIG. 2.

FIG. 9 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 9-9, FIG. 2.

FIG. 10 is an inside elevation of an element shown in FIG. 9.

FIGS. 11, 12 and 13 illustrate three operative positions of elements shown in FIG. 5.

FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 14-14, FIG. 3.

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary top plan view of the device shown in FIG. 7.

3,285,995 Patented 5ept. 14, 1965 FIG. 16 is a cross sectional view taken through section line 1616, FIG. 15.

The machine shown in FIG. 1, typical of manual vending machines, will laminate a card of photo between transparent plastic sheets upon the deposit of a coin in slot 1 and the manual rotation of knob 2, following the placement of the article to be laminated in the opening 3.

The coin actuator to be hereinafter described is responsive to the gravity deposit of a predetermined coin in the slot 1. and will permit one revolution of knob 2 to complete a single vending operation of the machine.

Referring to FIG. 2, the coin actuator is retained on a mounting plate 4 which is intended to be secured within the casing of a vending machine by screws 5 forming a frame.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the knob 2 is secured to the outer end of shaft 6 which is journalled in the vending machine and the uni-directional rotation thereof will simultaneously motivate the coin actuator and the vending mechanism, not shown. A drive gear 7 secured to shaft 6 is meshed with idle gear 8 which is journalled on a bushing 9 retained on plate 4 by a screw 10, shown in FIGS. 2 and 4. A hub 11 is journalled on a stud 12 secured to plate 4 by a screw 13, better shown in FIG. 9. A driven gear 14 meshed with idle gear 8 is coaxially secured on the inner side of hub 12 by screw fasteners.

A main actuator rotor 15 is coaxially secured to the outer side of hub 11 by screw fasteners, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8. A lock member 16 is journalled for coaxial oscillation on hub 11 with respect to rotor 15 and is held in axial spaced relation therewith by a circular spacer 17.

Rotor 15 is provided with a pair of oppositely positioned projections 18 and 19 which project through segmental apertures 20 and 21 in member 16 respectively as shown in FIG. 5. A resilient bumper pad 22 is secured to one side of each of the projections 18 and 19, as shown, the action of which will be hereinafter described.

A spring 23 has one end secured to projection 19 and the opposite end secured to a projection 24 lanced from member 16 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 for the purpose of normally urging rotor 15 into its idle position with respect to member 16, as shown in FIG. 5.

Referring to FIG. 3, a gate 25 is pivotally secured on the outer side of rotor 15 by an offset hinge member 26 having projections 27-27 extending through appropriate apertures in rotor 15, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 14. The gate 25 is held in spaced relation with respect to rotor 15 by an extruded stop projection 28 of appropriate length shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, and the gate is urged toward rotor 15 into the position shown in FIG. 14 by a flat spring 29 anchored to the rotor by screws 30, as shown in FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, an upper edge portion 31 of rotor 15 is obliquely flared as shown, to provide guidance for the entry of a gravity propelled coin. Referring to FIG. 3, gate 25 and adjustable land member 32 are secured to the outside surface of the gate by a screw 33. A projection 34 of member 32 extends through an aperture 35 in gate 25, better shown in FIG. 4, as a land for arresting and registering a deposited coin.

Referring to FIG. 10, projections 36 and 37 are lanced inward from gate to provide a pocket for temporarily holding coin 38 therebetween when resting on projection 34 when the actuator is in the receiving position as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Flat pusher springs 39 and 40, shown in FIG. 3, are secured to gate 25 by screws Fail-30. The outer ends of the springs are formed to project into aperture for relative movement therethrough. When the gate 25 is moved outward by means to be hereinafter described, to reject a coin from the actuator, the ends of springs 39 and 40 will dislodge a coin from gate 25 resting on projection 34 and permit same to gravitate from the gate.

The gate 25 has a flare 41 formed therein as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 for engagement by a cam blade 42 secured to the inner end of a reject push button 43, as journalled in the casing of the machine, shown in FIG. 1. The button and blade are normally held in the position shown in FIG. 4 by a spring means, not shown. When the butten 43 is manually depressed the plate 42 will earn against the flare 41 and move plate 25 outward to the position shown in FIG. 15 permitting the springs 39 and 40 to dislodge the coin 38 to gravitate from the device from its rest position on projection 34.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 15, a pawl 44 is pivotally secured to the side of plate 4 by a screw 45 and a shoulder nut 46 as shown and urged into engagement with the teeth of .gear 14 by a spring 47. A plate 48 secured to the side of gear 14 has a peripheral surface 49 with a predetermined length extending slightly beyond the addendum of a predetermined number of teeth on gear 14 which periphery corresponds with a predetermined angle with relation to the axis of stud 12.

Referring to FIG. 7, it is now apparent that the gear 14 will rotate only in the direction shown by arrow through a transfer angle and the remaining angle for counter-rotation is subtended by the peripheral surface 49 which will prevent engagement of the pawl for said angle and permit the oscillation of the rotor in either direction through the aforesaid release angle.

It is now apparent that a predetermined number of teeth corresponding to said angle may be omitted from the gear and thus eliminate the function of plate 48.

Referring to FIG. 5, a lock lever 50 is pivotally secured on a bushing 51 retained to plate 4 by a screw 52 and is urged toward the lock member by a torsion spring 53, as shown in FIG. 4. The outer end of lever 50 terminates in an upturned cam portion 54 and an integral stop projection 55 projects, downward for engagement with a radial abutment 56 in lock member 16.

Referring to FIG. 10, a projection 57 lanced inward from gate 25 is positioned into an aperture 58 in rotor 15 for deflecting a rejected coin descended by gravity into a predetermined rejection path.

Before operation and referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the projection 34 is adjusted by screw 33 to properly position a coin of predetermined diameter to operate lever 50 to release lock member 16. It is now apparent that when a coin of small diameter is used, the spring 39 is discarded in order to permit proper adjustment of projection 34.

In operation and when the elements of the accumulator are in rest position, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 10, and

when a coin is deposited by gravity between rotor 15 and gate 25, it will come to rest, as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 10, on the projection 34 between projections 36 and 37. Then when the knob 2 is rotated in the direction shown by arrow in FIG. 2, the gear 14 will rotate in the direction shown by arrow in FIG. 7 and will rotate rotor 15 and gate 25 through the release angle in the same direction against the strained elongation of spring 23 by virtue of the locking action of lever 50 engaged with lock member 16 as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.

When the rotor has been rotated through the release angle equal to the peripheral surface of plate 48 then the rim of the coin will cam against the cam portion 54 of lever 50 and disengage stop projection from abutment 56 and permit the lock plate to assume its original position with respect to the rotor 15 and also permit the complete revolution of rotor 15 to first discharge the coin 38 by gravity as illustrated in FIG. 13, and to continue its rotation to its original receive position which will permit lever 59 to re-engage abutment 56 in the lock member. This 360 degree movement will permit a complete cycle of operation of a vending mechanism connected to and operated by shaft 6.

At the instant of the disengagement of the lever 50 from lock member 16 the spring 23 will forcibly move same to its original position with a degree of shock which is rendered substantially noiseless by rubber bumpers 22 secured to projections 18 and 19, respectively, as shown in FIG. 11.

In the event an undersized coin is deposited into the pocket formed by projections 34, 36, and 37, the preliminary or release rotation of the rotor through the aforesaid angle will not raise lever 50 sufficiently high to release the locking engagement with the lock member 16 and thus the spring 23 will return the rotor in opposite direction to its initial receive position by virtue of the pawl disabling action of plate 48.

Under the above or other circumstances, the coin may be rejected from its position in the gate 25 by the depression of button 43 which will move gate 25 from its normal position to that shown in FIG. 15 by virtue of the action of cam blade 42 against flare 41 whereby the springs 39 and 40 will dislodge the coin from projection 34 and permit the gravity descent of the coin to impinge against projection 57, shown in FIG. 10, for rejection in a predetermined return path.

It is understood that certain modifications in the above construction, utilizing the features described, are intended to come within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A coin actuator mounted in a frame for controlling actuation of elements mounted to said frame responsive to reception of a proper coin, comprising: a lock disc journalled for rotation in said frame about a principal axis; a main rotor journalled for rotation about saidprincipal axis and connected to said lock disc with a lost motion connection; latch means connected to said frame and having a lock portion normally urged in locking engagement with said lock disc to prevent rotation of said lock disc and said main rotor other than the relative lost motion movement between the two, said latch means also having a cam surface normally positioned adjacent said main rotor and spaced from said lock disc; and a gate hinged to said rotor on the side opposite from said lock disc for rotation with said rotor and for lateral movement relative thereto, said gate having a coin receiving pocket therein for holding a coin deposited therein and rotating the same responsive to movement of said rotor to a position in engagement with saidcam surface of said latch means for releasing the locking engagement between said latch means and said lock disc to permit further revolution of said rotor.

2. The coin actuator of claim 1 including a plunger mounted on said frame adjacent said gate for movement toward and away from said gate between a retracted inoperative position and a forward gate opening position wherein the gate is moved laterally relative to the rotor to release the coin held by the gate.

3. The coin actuator of claim 1 wherein said lock disc is provided with a peripheral interruption and wherein said latch means includes a member normally urged against the periphery of said lock disc having a first locking portion normally residing in saidperipheral interruption when said lock disc is in the inoperative position and having a second cam portion positioned to intersect the path of travel of the coin held between said gate and said rotor to move said lock portion of said lock member out of the peripheral interruption of said lock dis-c responsive 5 6 to movement of the coin against the cam surface during 1,933,840 11/ 33 Bolen 194-63 10st motion movement of said gate and rotor relative to 3,064,789 11/62 Probasco 194-61 said disc to release the rotor and lock disc for rotation 3,159,262 12/64 Vaccaro 194-63 about the said axis to actuate said other elements. FOREIGN PATENTS References Cited by the Examiner 5 747 124 3/56 Great Britain UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,595,570 8/26 Parsons SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner. 

1. A COIN ACTUATOR MOUNTED IN A FRAME FOR CONTROLLING ACTUATION OF ELEMENTS MOUNTED TO SAID FRAME RESPONSIVE TO RECEPTION OF A PROPER COIN, COMPRISING: A LOCK DISC JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION IN SAID FRAME ABOUT A PRINCIPAL AXIS; A MAIN ROTOR JOURNALLED FOR ROTATION ABOUT SAID PRINCIPAL AXIS AND CONNECTED TO SAID LOCK DISC WITH A LOST MOTION CONNECTION; LATCH MEANS CONNECTED TO SAID FRAME AND HAVING A LOCK PORTION NORMALLY URGED IN LOCKING ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID LOCK DISC TO PREVENT ROTATION OF SAID LOCK DISC AND SAID MAIN ROTOR OTHER THAN THE RELATIVE LOST MOTION MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE TWO, SAID LATCH MEANS ALSO HAVING A CAM SURFACE NORMALLY POSITIONED ADJACENT SAID MAIN ROTOR AND SPACED FROM SAID LOCK DISC; AND A GATE HINGED TO SAID ROTOR ON THE SIDE OPPOSITE FROM SAID LOCK DISC FOR ROTATION WITH SAID ROTOR AND FOR LATERAL MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO, SAID GATE HAVING A COIN RECEIVING POCKET THEREIN FOR HOLDING A COIN DEPOSITED THEREIN AND ROTATING THE SAME RESPONSIVE TO MOVEMENT OF SAID ROTOR TO A POSITION IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID CAM SURFACE OF SAID LATCH MEANS FOR RELEASING THE LOCKING ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN SAID LATCH MEANS AND SAID LOCK DISC TO PERMIT FURTHER REVOLUTION OF SAID ROTOR. 